Xeric shrubland ecoregion on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia
Nama Karoo is a xeric shrubland ecoregion located on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia. It occupies most of the interior of the western half of South Africa and extends into the southern interior of Namibia.[1]
Climate
The climate tends to be volatile and very harsh. Droughts are frequent with rain primarily falling in the summer. Rainfall can also be varied with it fluctuating between 100 and 520 millimetres (3.94 and 20.47 in) per year. Rainfall is known to be highly seasonal, peaking between December and March. It tends to decrease from the east to west and from north to south. The variability in the inter-annual rainfall also tends to increase with increasing aridity.[2] Temperature variations as large as 25 °C or 45 °F between day and night are common. Mean maximum temperatures in the mid-summer (January) exceeds 30 °C (86 °F), while mean minimum mid-winter (July) temperatures are below freezing.[3]
Biodiversity of South Africa
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National taxon checklists |
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Plants |
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Animals | Arthropods | Arachnids |
- Harvestmen
- Microwhip scorpions
- Pseudoscorpions
- Scorpions
- Shorttailed whipscorpions
- Solifugae
- Araneae
- Ixodida
- Whip spiders and tailless whip scorpions
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Insects |
- Alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies
- Beetles
- Booklice, barklice and barkflies
- Butterflies and moths
- Caddisflies
- Cockroaches and termites
- Dragonflies and damselflies
- Earwigs
- Fleas
- Flies
- Jumping bristletails
- Lice
- Mantises
- Mayflies
- Net-winged insects
- Notoptera
- Orthoptera
- Sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants
- Scorpionflies
- Silverfish and firebrats
- Stick and leaf insects
- Stoneflies
- Strepsiptera
- Termites
- Thrips
- True bugs
- Webspinners
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Molluscs | |
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Vertebrates | |
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Seaweeds | |
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Fungi | |
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Regional taxon checklists and other minor lists |
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- Succulent Karoo
- Cape Floristic Region
- Griqualand West Centre
- Albany Centre
- Drakensberg Alpine Centre
- Soutpansberg Centre
- Wolkberg Centre
- Sekhukhuneland Centre
- Barberton Centre
- Maputaland-Pondoland Region
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Biodiversity research in SA |
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Research organisations | |
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Research projects | |
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Citizen science databases | |
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Botanical gardens | |
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Taxonomists | |
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Related |
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Regional biodiversity | |
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Legislation | |
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Publications |
- List of field guides to South African biota
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